A day after he was abruptly fired by President Trump, outgoing Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson spoke on the phone with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The New York Democrat said Saturday evening that he told the independent watchdog, whom defenders fear was removed to settle a score stemming from the impeachment saga, he will be remembered as a “hero.”
“I spoke to Inspector General Michael Atkinson tonight, thanked him for his service, and told him that history will remember him as a hero and those who retaliated against him as scoundrels,” Schumer tweeted.
I spoke to Inspector General Michael Atkinson tonight, thanked him for his service, and told him that history will remember him as a hero and those who retaliated against him as scoundrels.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 5, 2020
Trump notified Congress late Friday he was exercising his power to remove Atkinson from the inspector general role, effective in 30 days because he “no longer” had the fullest confidence in him. The president said he would submit a replacement “who has my full confidence and who meets the appropriate qualifications” at a later date.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence later announced Thomas Monheim, a career intelligence professional and retired colonel from the U.S. Air Force Reserves, was taking on the role.
Trump offered more insight into his dismay with Atkinson during the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Saturday. “I thought he did a terrible job — absolutely terrible. He took a whistleblower report, which turned out to be a fake report. It was fake. It was totally wrong,” he said.
Last year, Atkinson determined a whistleblower complaint from a CIA analyst about a phone call Trump had with Ukraine’s president related to a CrowdStrike conspiracy theory and an effort to have Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden to be “urgent” and “credible.” The inspector general forwarded the complaint to then-acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who did not give Atkinson permission to share it with Congress after seeking guidance from the White House and Justice Department but did allow him to notify them of its existence.
An investigation ensued, and the president was impeached by the House in December on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He was acquitted on both articles of impeachment by the Senate following a trial in February.
Two weeks before he was fired, Atkinson sent a letter to Schumer in which he said the past six months had been “a searing time for whistleblowers” and criticized public officials who fail to protect these people when “the stakes are highest.” This letter, obtained by Politico, came in response to Schumer reaching out about the treatment of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was removed from the National Security Council after testifying against the president during the impeachment investigation.
“We’ve had a great tradition in America that patriots speak truth to power. They tell them the truth, and America has been a nation of truth. This president has turned that inside out. When you tell him the truth, he fires you,” Schumer said on MSNBC on Saturday.
“Whether it is Mr. Atkinson, or the captain of the aircraft carrier a few days ago, Colonel Vindman, and so many others. And let me just say in terms of our intelligence agencies, they don’t make movies about them the way they do about the men and women in our armed forces, because what they do is secret. They risk their lives and do so much to keep America safe. And to politicize it and just say that somebody who was protecting that agency as Atkinson did should be fired because he told the truth, it’s a dark page in American history,” he added.
When asked what more Congress can do to protect people who cooperated during the impeachment process, Schumer said, “Well, we’re trying our best. It’s the House more than the Senate because we’re in the minority. But I know they’re trying their best to protect them.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is a leader in the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus, demanded the Trump administration provide more of an explanation about the removal of Atkinson, who is on administrative leave until his firing becomes official next month.
“Congress has been crystal clear that written reasons must be given when IGs are removed for a lack of confidence. More details are needed from the administration,” the Iowa Republican said.
